I recently looked around AO3 to see other people's goblin-centric fics, since I was curious how other people portrayed them. And there were all of four, counting the prequel about Jazax that I'm writing. I was so upset by this grievous offense to the second-best race in Azeroth, that I have officially promoted Jazax and Syrise from side characters to main characters. You'll find that they're even in the tags now. Rather than just supporting the main plot, they will now actually have their own little B plot. Of course, Zami is still the main character here and it's ultimately his story, so he will still be the primary protagonist. All of this to say that, for the first time in over 100 chapters, Jazax is finally getting his first POV chapter!


Jazax woke up with a jolt of electricity to his ear. He winced, opening his eyes, and groaned. The little robot he'd been working on in the night, and apparently finished, had clamped onto his ear. It looked like a little miniature goblin, with glowing red eyes. It stared at him ominously, a permanent toothy frown plastered on its lips. Jazax swatted the little robo-goblin's clamps from his ear, knocking it over, before he rose his arms over his head to stretch. It'd been years since he had fallen asleep at his workbench, and he was beginning to feel a bit too old for it.

Rubbing his eyes, Jazax looked around the kitchen. It was morning, from what he could tell by the sounds of birdsong and the sun shining through the windows. And directly into his eyes, of course. Squinting, he lowered his goggles and looked around again. To his surprise, Zami was sitting at the kitchen table, holding his head in his hands.

"Hey, buddy," Jazax spoke up, causing the troll to flinch, "Rough night?"

"I don't wanna talk about it..." Zami mumbled, leaning forward to plant his face against the table.

"Jeez, have you been up all night?" Jazax furrowed his brow.

Zami didn't respond, and Jazax perked an eyebrow. After concluding that Zami had fallen asleep right then and there, Jazax rolled his eyes and began to wonder what he'd do all day without Zami. He was probably going to sleep all day, after all.

As if an answer from the Light, Mythene appeared in the doorway. She caught sight of Zami and stopped short, looking a bit frazzled.

"Hey, hey," Jazax greeted her, "If it isn't Miss Moon-"

"I'm going to the Temple of the Moon," She said quickly, practically darting past Zami and out the door.

"Okay, then," Jazax frowned, "Good talk."

Jazax grumbled to himself and looked down at the robo-goblin. It just started back, that maniacal frown still etched across its face. Jazax perked an eyebrow at it and leaned over, reaching into his toolbox. He retrieved his arclight spanner, taking a hold of the robo-goblin's mouth and turned until it was stuck in an insane grin.

"There ya go, little buddy," Jazax said as he grinned back.

A few moments later, he heard footsteps in the hallway. Then Mythene's father appeared in the archway.

"Hey, look who it is!" Jazax greeted him, supposing he was growing a bit desperate for someone to talk to.

Mythene's father just glanced at Jazax in disinterest then made his way towards the cooking pot. Jazax leaned on his workstation table, watching the night elf cut various vegetables and put them into the pot.

"I'll be honest, I don't remember your name," Jazax admitted as he watched him cook, "I just remember you're Mythene's dad. So, y'know, maybe you could-"

"Caserion," The night elf grunted, not looking up from the odd-looking root he was chopping.

"Ah, Caserion, right, right," Jazax nodded, eager to keep the conversation going, "That's an interesting name. My name is Jazax, by the way. Don't think I introduced myself. I'm Jazax Boombottle. I live in Booty Bay. You ever been to Booty Bay, old man?"

"No," Caserion said as he gave Jazax a cold glance.

"Oh, man, really? You should definitely go before you kick the bucket. If, uh, that's any time soon. I dunno, it's hard to keep track of how long you elves live. Anyway, yeah, Booty Bay is great. You got the three best things you can get outta a vacation. Sea, sun, and suckers."

Caserion said nothing, only perking an eyebrow, so Jazax elaborated.

"People are so easy to scam money out of when they're on vacation," Jazax shrugged, "I once convinced this lady she was buyin' partial ownership of the Kingdom of Stormwind. Can you believe that? She paid good gold for it, too. What a sucker, huh?"

"...Are you going to keep talking?" Caserion asked dryly.

"Uhh… yes?"

Caserion frowned and set down his kitchen knife. Then he put out the cooking fire, put on a jacket, and walked out the front door. Jazax blinked a moment before furrowing his brow.

"Guess I know where Mythene gets it," He snorted, looking down to the robo-goblin, "Well, I guess it's just you and me now, little buddy."

The robo-goblin bonked its mouth with its clamp, reverting the grin back to a frown. Then it pressed the self-destruct button on its own back, causing it to explode in a little puff of smoke. Jazax frowned, catching the robo-goblin's head as it flew away.

"Well, jeez, fine!" He sniffed indignantly, "Guess I'll have to entertain myself today."

Jazax looked down at the little frowning robo-goblin head in his hand, thinking about what he could do by himself. After a moment, he got an idea.

"I got it! I'll go to the bank!" He said as he threw the robo-goblin's head onto the workstation.

Jazax packed up his tools and workbench then headed out into the city. He was, admittedly, a little bit anxious about going into Darnassus without a disguise. But he knew they wouldn't let him fifty feet near his bank account if he didn't look like himself. Fortunately, nobody really seemed to care much about his presence. Or maybe they just didn't notice when he walked by. The perks of being fun-sized, he supposed.

"Hey, lady!" Jazax jumped up, leaning against the bank teller's window, sporting his signature suave grin, "Remember me?"

The bank teller stared back flatly, her expression completely blank.

"Yeah, so, I wanted to check and see if anything's changed from the other day. Y'know, money-wise."

"No," The banker said in monotone.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Did you check?"

The banker sighed, rolling her eyes, and snatched up the account transcript. Her white eyes skimmed over it before one of her eyebrows rose.

"Huh… Actually, it appears that all of the money was re-deposited."

"Huh?" Jazax cocked his head to the side, "You mean my money's back?"

"So it seems," The banker nodded, "Although…"

"Although?"

"This makes no sense," The banker mumbled, peering at the transcript.

"What? What doesn't?" Jazax asked, reaching for the transcript to take a look for himself.

The banker handed it over, and Jazax quickly skimmed the last few transactions in the log. It appeared that the money was indeed back, all 657 gold, 23 silver, and 63 copper.

"Perhaps it was a clerical error after all," The banker admitted sheepishly, "We're sorry for the inconvenience, sir-"

"It ain't no error," Jazax said as he furrowed his brow, eyeing the transaction log suspiciously.

He knew it was no error and no coincidence. It couldn't be. The deposit had come from Moonglade.